How to Recommend a Service Provider on LinkedIn

The success of the LinkedIn database depends on sharing experiences and recommending somebody you’ve hired or worked with, which simply makes a better network for you to enjoy and benefit from. When you receive excellent service, consider how you can recommend that provider to other LinkedIn users.

For your recommendation to have some weight and give prospective customers a good idea of what this provider can accomplish, think about the type of recommendation you plan to leave and make sure that you cover or emphasize the appropriate things. You are a little constrained by a 3,000-character count limit, but you also don’t want to provide a thesis of why provider X is the best on Earth.

Instead, provide a concise, factual testimonial that conveys your recommendation that will make sense to the reader and validate the provider’s abilities. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Stick to the basics: Although you might want to gush and go on and on about why this provider is the best, anybody reading this will lose interest and stop reading, which hurts the provider’s chance of getting new business and makes you, the recommender, look unprofessional. Provide summaries of your experience, highlighting the most important aspects.

Lead with the most important info: Most people don’t read beyond the first sentence. Therefore, craft your introductory sentence to give a complete picture of the person you’re recommending. This way, you hook your reader into finding out why this person is so qualified and deserves his business.

Give examples/accomplishments: Saying someone is a hard worker or very intelligent is nice, but if that’s all you say, someone reading your recommendation might wonder whether this is just your opinion. When you give specific examples of the provider’s accomplishments, you provide a measurable aspect that readers can relate to and help prove the quality of that provider.

Who would you hire: someone whose recommendation says, “Great accountant,” or someone whose recommendation says, “Paul balanced my business receipts and records in 3 hours and found me $4,000 in extra deductions for last year’s tax returns”?

Be a little personal: In the end, no matter how qualified somebody is, people typically hire someone they enjoy working with on a project. Therefore, after you mention a person’s great capabilities and accomplishments, be sure to include some personal experiences on what working with this person was like. “I have been Alex’s client for the past 5 years, and I am consistently pleased and amazed at the service he has provided.”

Dummies Insider

Sign up for insider news on books, authors, discounts and more content created just for you.